Traditional lighted decorative sculptures typically include components that are mechanically affixed to each other to represent a figure in three dimensions, such as a reindeer, Santa Clause, snowman, stable, or similar holiday figure. To enhance the lighting effect, the sculpture is often wrapped with an outer layer of fabric or other wrapping prior to affixing lights to the outside of the assembly. The outer layer serves to reflect light away from the sculpture that would otherwise be directed inward toward the core of the lighted sculpture. In this way, more of the light is directed outward, to brighten the appearance of the sculpture.
Often, these sculptures are situated outdoors, and exposed to inclement weather. Light strings are attached to the sculptures to outline the sculpture for illumination in darkness. Traditional light strings typically include a set of insulated wires and incandescent bulbs. The insulated wires typically comprise a pair of insulated multi-strand conductors, for example, a pair of 22 AWG insulated wires, each multi-strand conductor having sixteen twisted copper strands, connected to each bulb. The gauge of the wire must be sufficient to withstand the rigors of shipping, handling, and storage, as well as the extremes of outdoor weather, such as snow, rain, and a substantially wide range of temperatures.
More recently, and in an effort to increase energy efficiency and reliability, manufacturers have begun using light-emitting diodes (LEDs) rather than incandescent bulbs. Indeed, lighted decorative sculptures having light strings with LEDs rather than incandescent bulbs are well known. Such known lighted decorative sculptures often simply replace the incandescent bulbs with similar bulb or lamp assemblies that use LED “bulbs,” utilizing the same insulated, multi-strand conductor wiring as the incandescent-bulb-based light strings, and utilizing the same techniques of affixing the light strings to the sculpture. In some cases, the lower current requirements of the LEDs may allow the use of smaller diameter conductors or fewer conductor strands, for example, allowing the use of 25 AWG wire, for example, instead of 22 AWG wire.
While such a technique maintains the look and feel of a traditional lighted decorative sculptures having traditional light strings, with the growing popularity of more and more lights on a decorative sculpture, such sculptures, even with LED technology, include an enormous length of electrically insulated wire that remains visible on the components of the lighted decorative sculpture, thereby diminishing the perceived attractiveness of the sculpture. Furthermore, shipping, handling, and storage considerations require the use of relatively strong, traditional wires having conductor thicknesses that may be oversized given the low current draw of LEDs.
A simple and inexpensive solution that takes full advantage of the low-current requirements of LED lamps while maintaining the integrity of the lighting system would be welcomed.